Deaths from overdose in Portugal dramatically decreased after the country decriminalized drugs

Rising overdose deaths throughout the 1990s were part of the impetus for implementing a harm reduction policy.

line showing deaths from drug overdose in Portugal from 1990-2004, highlighting the year 2001, when drugs were decriminalized

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The historical and contemporary measures of overdose deaths aren't perfectly comparable, so some deaths that were counted in the 1990s might not be considered overdoses now. Still, the measures are close enough that this data is still meaningful.

Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-NDSource: European Union Drugs AgencyGet the data